iZoom aims to help the visually impaired by putting two things at their disposal: a virtual magnifier that features 8 zoom modes and magnification by up to x36, and a screen reader that speaks out words as they’re typed, announces the shortcut key for a menu item, reads the content of a window title, and more.

According to the iZoom FAQ, this application’s system requirements are as follows: 1.6GHz Intel processor or better; at least 1GB of RAM; 15MB of free storage space; 32- or 64-bit version of Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8.

iZoom isn’t free, it’s only free to try, and this fact will be immediately pointed out to you. Once you’re done installing it on your Windows PC and you launch it for the first time, a prompt will show up and ask you to register your copy or start using a 30-day trial.

Three main sections are presented on iZoom’s interface: Magnifier – select one of multiple zoom modes, set the magnification level, select the hotkey that toggles the virtual magnifier, and more. Speech – adjust the volume and rate, pick one of several voices, choose how iZoom speaks by toggling all the Echo options. General Settings – restore default settings, set it so that iZoom automatically runs at startup.

In the Quick Look video that accompanies this article, I selected the Lens zoom mode, at 3x magnification. Instead of using a hotkey to enable the magnifier, I clicked on the Magnifier icon in the upper left hand corner. The moment I did that, the Lens zoom mode turned on and I could move the mouse around my desktop and take a closer look at iZoom’s desktop icon.

As mentioned above, iZoom is free to use for a trial period of 30 days. I bring this up only to mention that pricing for an iZoom license starts at $299, with the most expensive version coming in at $479 at the time of writing this.

iZoom features two utilities that are useful to the visually impaired: a virtual magnifier and a screen reader.

Pros iZoom’s system requirements are quite low. Multiple zoom modes are available for the magnifier. Multiple Echo options are available for the screen reader. You can enable the magnifier and the screen reader by using a hotkey. Multiple voices are available for the screen reader. A PDF user manual is available online.

Cons Although iZoom is free to use for 30 days, it stopped working on my PC after just a few uses. Pricing for this application starts at $299.